Gilas players back fellow PHL athletes

INCHEON, South Korea -- Gilas Pilipinas took a time out from training and showed up at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center here on Monday.

Gilas cheered Olympian swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi in the 100m freestyle. Too bad, Alkhaldi missed the final cut finishing one spot out of the top eight that advanced to the medal round.

Alkhaldi clocked 56.92 seconds, which fell short of eight placed Natthanan Junkrajang's 56.73 seconds.

Despite Alkhaldi's ouster, Gilas team captain Jimmy Alapag said they'll do it again if given the time.

"It was a great experience. I hope we actually can find more time to support our Philippine athletes," Alapag told Philstar.com in a text message. "I'm just happy we could be there to show our support."

Alapag and the rest of the team went back to the Athletes Village before plunging back to their daily practice at Sondong High School in the afternoon.

Gilas will play heir first game Tuesday at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. Manila time) against the Group B leader being disputed by Kazakhstan and India as of this posting time. All Gilas games will be aired live on TV5.

With the Phl contingent still hunting for its first medal here, Alapag and Gilas wish that their fellow athletes will make the country proud of their performance, win or lose.

"I just wish them all the best. We're all here to make the country proud. I know all the athletes have worked extremely hard to be here," Alapag said.